Statistics, Production of Official Statistics, Second Cycle, 7.5 credits

Aims and objectives

General aims for second cycle education

Second-cycle courses and study programmes shall involve the acquisition of specialist knowledge, competence and skills in relation to first-cycle courses and study programmes, and in addition to the requirements for first-cycle courses and study programmes shall

• further develop the ability of students to integrate and make autonomous use of their knowledge
• develop the students' ability to deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations, and
• develop the students' potential for professional activities that demand considerable autonomy, or for research and development work.

(Higher Education Act, Chapter 1, Section 9)

Course objectives

Knowledge and Understanding

After completed studies, the student shall have

• knowledge of conditions for production of official statistics, with respect to the European statistical system, data laws, code-of-practice and quality
• knowledge of production models and statistics and data management systems for production of official statistics
• deepened knowledge of use of administrative data in production of official statistics
• knowledge of methods for measuring disclosure risk
• knowledge of approaches for evaluating uncertainty in register based statistics

Competence and Skills

After completed studies, the student shall be able to

• combine administrative registers into statistical registers

Judgement and Approach

After completed studies, the student shall be able to

• independently evaluate the option of using administrative data for producing statistics
• critically evaluate the quality of statistics derived from other sources than probability sample surveys.

Main content of the course

The course starts with an overview of the organization of the official statistics system in Sweden and its links to the ESS. The term "official statistics" and relevant laws and regulations, for example the Swedish Statistics Act and Eurostat "code-of-practice", are treated.

Models for and organization of systems for producing official statistics are discussed. Data sources other than traditional sample surves are introduced where special emphasis is made on use of administrative. Methods and techniques for producing register-based statistics are discussed in depth. Examples of problems addressed are linking, matching, derived variables, missing data and estimation.

Models for quality assessment of official statistics are introduced and quality differences between sample-based and register-based statistics are discussed. Here the aspects on reliability and accuracy are of special interest.

The course concludes with a discussion of disclosure risk and methods of risk valuation. This is of special interest when using administrative data which enables statistics for small domains.

Teaching methods

Teaching consists of a smaller number of lectures and a greater number of workshops. The lectures aim to outline the areas and problems discussed whereby subsequent workshops are aimed at a student-driven discussion of the specific issues covered in the course.

The course includes a lab with management of registers and the writing of a report containing a quality evaluation of published register-based statistics. Both of these elements are examined orally and in writing.

Students who have been admitted to and registered on a course have the right to receive tuition and/or supervision for the duration of the time period specified for the particular course to which they were accepted (see, the university's admission regulations (in Swedish)). After that, the right to receive tuition and/or supervision expires.

Examination methods

Lab, Analysis of Register Data in Practice, 1.5 credits (Code: A001)
Written and oral presentation

Report, Quality Assessment, 1 credits (Code: A002)
Written and oral presentation

Written Examination, 5 credits (Code: A003)
Individual written examination

For students with a documented disability, the university may approve applications for adapted or other forms of examinations.

For further information, see the university's local examination regulations (in Swedish).

Grades

According to the Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 6, Section 18, a grade is to be awarded on the completion of a course, unless otherwise prescribed by the university. The university may prescribe which grading system shall apply. The grade is to be determined by a teacher specifically appointed by the university (an examiner).

In accordance with university regulations regarding grading systems for first and second-cycle courses (Vice-Chancellor’s decision ORU 2018/00929), one of the following grades shall be used: Fail (U), Pass (G) or Pass with Distinction (VG). For courses that are included in an international Master’s programme (60 or 120 credits) or offered to the university’s incoming exchange students, the grading scale of A-F shall be used. The vice-chancellor, or a person appointed by the vice-chancellor, may decide on exceptions from this provision for a specific course, if there are special grounds.

Grades used on course are Fail (F), Sufficient (E), Satisfactory (D), Good (C), Very Good (B) or Excellent (A).

Lab, Analysis of Register Data in Practice
Grades used are Fail (U) or Pass (G).

Report, Quality Assessment
Grades used are Fail (U) or Pass (G).

Written Examination
Grades used are Fail (F), Sufficient (E), Satisfactory (D), Good (C), Very Good (B) or Excellent (A).

For further information, see the university's local examination regulations (in Swedish).

Comments on grades

To obtain a passing grade for the course as a whole, a passing grade is required on all course components. The final grade for the entire course is a function of the grades of the course components. Detailed information on the requirements for different grade levels is given at the course start.

Specific entry requirements

First-cycle courses of 90 credits in statistics, including an independent project of 15 credits, alternatively 30 credits are for studies in statistics and 60 credits for mathematics.The applicant must also have qualifications corresponding to the course "English 6" or "English B" from the Swedish Upper Secondary School.

For further information, see the university's admission regulations (in Swedish).

Transfer of credits for previous studies

Students who have previously completed higher education or other activities are, in accordance with the Higher Education Ordinance, entitled to have these credited towards the current programme, providing that the previous studies or activities meet certain criteria.

For further information, see the university's local credit transfer regulations (in Swedish).

Reading list and other teaching materials

Required Reading

Eurostat, Product code:KS-32-11-955 2011 (revised edition 2011)
European Statistics Code of Practice for the National and Community Statistical Authorities
Eurostat, ISBN/ISSN: 978-92-79-21679-4, Digital Object Identifier (DOI):10.2785/18474 [Electronic Resource]

Wallgren A. and B. Wallgren (2014)
Register-based Statistics - Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes
Wiley, Chichester, 320 pages

Additions and Comments

The course also includes between 4-6 scientific articles, reports and handouts.